Venus Williams bows out of US Open as streamlined Alcaraz sails through
NEW YORK: Venus Williams battled bravely before bowing out of the US Open on her return to Grand Slam tennis on Monday as Spanish ace Carlos Alcaraz stormed into the second round with a dominant opening win. The second full day of action in New York saw all eyes turn to the Arthur Ashe Stadium’s night session, where the 45-year-old Williams lost in three sets to 11th seed Karolina Muchova. Williams only returned to competitive tennis in July following a 16-month absence from the sport and had been granted a wild card into the main draw at Flushing Meadows. But hopes of a fairytale run — 28 years after her debut in the tournament — ended in a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 loss to Muchova, who was not even born when Williams turned professional in 1994. “I didn’t win today but I’m very proud of the way I played,” Williams, the US Open champion in 2000 and 2001, said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a crowd on my side like that. I knew people around the world and around the United States were really rooting for me, and that felt great.” With the American exiting, 2022 men’s champion Alcaraz took center-stage in the late game in his first round tie against unseeded American Reilly Opelka. The Spaniard arrived for the game sporting a striking new hairstyle — a severe crew cut — and he duly chopped down the 6ft 11in Opelka with a blistering 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory in 2hr 5min. “Today was a really difficult one,” Alcaraz said.